Imphal: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who is the party’s in-charge for Manipur, said he would file a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission’s decision over payment of funds to insurgent groups by the Manipur government.
The EC held that the payment of funds by the BJP-led Manipur government to the banned militant groups under “Suspension of Operation” didn’t violate the Model Code of Conduct.
Alleging that the release of payments to the militant groups after a long hiatus “murdered” elections in 11 assembly seats in Manipur, Ramesh in a tweet said the move violated the model code of conduct or MCC.
He alleged the BJP government in Manipur released funds to militant groups even while the MCC was in force in the state and ahead of the second phase of the assembly polls.
“Shockingly, the ECI held large payments to banned militant groups by the Manipur Government did not violate the Model Code of Conduct. Payments were suddenly released during the poll period after a long gap,” he said in a tweet.
Ramesh and former minister Salman Khurshid on Friday submitted a memorandum to the poll panel, in which they alleged militant outfits were trying to influence the polls by intimidating voters.